Google and other major tech companies from the United States have been facing criticism from the European Union for not doing enough to protect the privacy of their users. This criticism came to a head with the cancellation of the information transfer agreement between Europe and the USA, also known as the "Privacy Shield".
However, Google has recently taken steps to improve its privacy protection measures for users of its Google Workspaces product. This will allow organizations in both the public and private sectors to audit, limit, and monitor the transfer of private information outside of the European Union.
These new controls will enable users to implement a wide range of measures to protect their data and create comprehensive log reports on data access and activity within their data environment. European clients will also be able to enforce strong client-side encryption and keep the encryption key close to their chest, ensuring that only they have access to their information.
Google is expanding client-side encryption to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Meet by the end of 2022. This means that users of these products will be able to encrypt their data on their own devices before it is transmitted to Google's servers, which will further increase their data security.
In addition, Google is expanding the ability for customers to restrict the location of their data, which means that they will have greater control over where their data is stored. This capability will be available until the end of 2023.
Another important aspect of the new controls is expanded access control. Users will now be able to request approval for any access by Google's support team to their information, which provides an extra layer of security for users.
Finally, Google is also adding detailed reporting capabilities to each access to information. This will allow users to keep track of who has accessed their information when it was accessed, and what actions were taken.
Overall, these new privacy protections are a significant step forward for Google and will likely be welcomed by both public and private sector organizations that use Google Workspaces. By providing users with more control over their data and greater transparency into who is accessing it, Google is helping to ensure that its products are more secure and that users are better protected from potential privacy breaches.
As always, it is important to remember that data protection matters and Google's recent actions are a positive step in the right direction.
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